I played a pickup game at the Y yesterday with few friends. I'm going to map out the players so it won't seem like I'm playing rejects. Player 1 (My Team) ------------------------- 5'9 140 Could have made the Varsity team and probably started as the starting point guard, but was cut Freshman year due to his size, by the time this year rolled around he started concentrating more on college than high school hoop dreams. Key Talents - Extremely talented penetrating point guard - Can pass extremely well, most passes are no look - Has a sick windmill layup, that throws off any blockers - Deadly three point shooter - Stick to you defensive player - Just generally really f***ing good Player 2 (My Team) --------------------- 5'10 140 Played for the freshman and JV team, moved away from my school district, and decided to play baseball instead of pursuing basketball. Extremely good shooter, well conditioned. Key Talents - Good shooter - Likes to penetrate and dish - Always seems to hang around where the rebounds are - Extremely well conditioned, rarely tires Player 3 (Opposing Team) ---------------------------- 5'8 140 Wanted to try out for the varsity team, but didn't have the grades. Extremely quick, good ball handling skills, unorthodox shot. Key Talents - Quick - Decent passer - Decent shooter Player 4 (Opposing Team) --------------------------- 5'7 145 Player 3's cousin, extremely quick, plays nagging defense. Can't shoot or handle the ball very well but as I said, an extremely good defender. Starting highschool runningback (think Darren Sproles). Key Talents - Great defender - Great conditioning - Fast as all hell Player 6 (Opposing Team) --------------------------- 5'10-11 165 Quick, can shoot decently, good ball handling skills, can penetrate relatively well. Key Talents - Fast - Floor general - Good shot - Good passer - Good penetrator Me ------------- 6'1 195 I'm easily the largest guy there, and have the second best, if not the best shot there from long range. Playing against shorter players gives me the advantage due to my size. Key Talents - Can post up the smaller players - Can rebound relatively easily (although the other team is completely black and can easily out jump my entire team) - Can change penetrating shots - Can set up and shoot quickly on a dish We played 3 full games, and part of one where the other team conceded. These were easily the best games that I've ever played in, even though the first 3 games were complete blowouts from my team. (Played 1's and 2's up to 32) Game 1 ------------ 15 Points total 6-9 From 3 (6-7 with a rushing defender, 0-2 just wide open with time to think) 10+ Rebounds 3 Blocks Just an embarassment to the other team, they collapsed on penetration allowing my team to pick them apart from the arc. My team was unconcious from 3. Final Score 32-17 Game 2 ------------- 12 Points total 4-7 From 3 (4-5 with rushing defender) 10+ Rebounds 2 Blocks Still collapsed on penetration, which gave me some open looks, and allowed me to pick up the trash around the post. Player 1 and 2 drove and picked apart the defense while setting me up in the post. Final Score 32-21 Game 3 -------------- 8 Points total 2-4 From 3 6 Rebounds 0 Blocks This was the conceded game, where play just stopped when I hit a 3 from 5 feet outside the 3 point line. Final Score 16-4 Game 4 -------------- 12 Points total 4-9 From 3 10+ Rebounds 1 Block Player 5 is my kryptonite. He may be smaller, but he's strong and extremely quick. If I got post position or an inbound pass, he would be there before I could get my arm out. He didn't leave me while my teammates drove which irritated me to no end. Player 1 saved the game, by taking over by doing everything. Penetrating, dishing, shooting 3's. For the first time we were actually down in the game. I hit a 3 on a wide rebound on a fadeaway trying to get a shot off before player 5 managed to strip the ball again, which put us up by 1, at the end of the game I managed to hit a desperation 3 which banked off the glass to tie the game. Player 1 then proceded to drive, spin around in the air, and windmill a layup over 2 defenders to put us up by one. On the next possession the ball got knocked loose towards the right side of the court, where I got doubled when I scooped up the ball, only to find myself in one of those situations where you can't dish to your teammates without getting the ball stolen. I drive baseline and barely miss the backboard on a running hook that seals the game. Horrible game on my part, but I was able to redeem myself at the end, but it was really player 1 that saved the game. 33-31 Just wrote that for fun. I'm surprised that after 3 months away from the game, I still have a shot. Like riding a bike huh?
Shooting better covered than wide open? That's pretty weird. Most of my threes come when there is no prospect of me getting blocked. If I see a defender rushing at me, I'll rush it and the shot will go over the basket.
I guess the fact that I hadn't picked up a basketball in quite some time caused me to overshoot open shots, but on fadeaways I guess it cancelled out.
Played again on Friday night, crazy game. Played against a couple varsity players from a rival high school. The first game went pretty badly since unknown to me, they had started using the YMCA's ball, which is much smaller than the official sized ball. Only hit one shot and it was meaningless. The next game we played with a regulation ball, went much better for me, shot 6-10 from beyond the arc, blocked a couple shots, and had a few rebounds. This kid I played against had the long arms, and he was strong, I'd get a hand on a shot which would be enough to stop or change another persons shot, but not this kid. He just powered through even with my hand on the ball. It was absolutely crazy.
